Trust is in short supply in the Disney animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon. That’s because 500 years ago, sinister monsters known as the Druun turned most of the people and the dragons (who until then had lived in harmony) to stone. But the collective energies and special powers of five dragon siblings saved…
A Writer’s Odyssey is intriguing and a tad exasperating. This intricately woven crime fantasy explores power and loss … and making it as a storyteller. It crams a lot into its two-hour plus running time and requires concentration to follow. Guan Ning (Lei Jiayin) is heartbroken and isolated. He used to be a happily married…
Boss Level, directed by Joe Carnahan, uses a video game framework to capture a fun, action-packed storyline. The film follows ex-military operative Roy Pulver (Frank Grillo) who re-lives the same day, but progresses further each time to unravel a plot that could annihilate the planet. In the same vein as Groundhog Day, mixed with Edge…
Not to be confused with the 1984 thriller that starred Drew Barrymore as a young girl who could start fires with her mind – Firestarter is a documentary that looks at Australia’s Bangarra Dance Company, one of the foremost indigenous dance companies in the world. The company was founded in Sydney in 1989 by Stephen…
The controversial topic of euthanasia comes under the microscope in Roger Michell’s drama Blackbird. Lily (Susan Sarandon) is in her late 60s and is terminally ill. Her husband, Paul (Sam Neill), a doctor, has the medication, which is legal in several states, but not where they live. He intends to administer it and make up…
Fight for what you believe in. Fight for decency. Fight for who you are. In fact, just fight. That is one, perhaps uncharitable, representation of Malcolm & Marie. This black-and-white two-hander focuses on an African-American filmmaker Malcolm (John David Washington) and his live-in partner Marie (Zendaya), a former drug addict. It’s 1 a.m. and they’ve…
Documentary is a wonderfully flexible form, but paradoxically it rarely strays from a defined formula. You know – some establishing shots, some archival footage, some talking head interviews. But directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw obviously don’t feel beholden to those conventions. Their new film, The Truffle Hunters, is about as radical a departure from…
Adapted from a 2012 graphic novel by Joff Winterhart, Days of the Bagnold Summer is a gently funny coming-of-age story. Sue Bagnold (Monica Doland) is a 52-year-old English librarian. She’s raising her son Daniel (Earl Cave) alone. Daniel, 15, is on school holidays and looking forward to travelling to the US to spend time with…
A slow burn drama with comedic elements, Minari weaves its magic over time. The film follows an immigrant family having a hard time of things. We’re in 1980s America. Jacob (Steven Yuen) is an accomplished chicken sexer who works fast, distinguishing the male chicks from the females. It’s a job he’s had for a decade,…
The Little Things is definitely not the movie I was expecting from director John Lee Hancock. After all, when you’ve got The Blind Side, Saving Mr Banks and The Founder on your resume, you might feel a little typecast. But Hancock breaks the mould here with a gritty crime thriller. And more than that, he…
